Hong Kong: A sartorial shopping guide

Hong Kong has long been a centre for international commerce, driven by its location as a port and later by its strategic importance to the British Empire.

When it was handed back to China in 1997, the city retained its vibrancy and international flavour, due to that heritage and to the success of its financial markets.

But the shopping was pretty limited. Chinese from the mainland came for tax-free western goods, leading to a plethora of designer brands and watch shops. There was little with its own identity, particularly in menswear.

I visited Hong Kong regularly between 2005 and 2009, and it was hard to find much of interest, beyond the 48-hour tailors that advertised their services on the streets of Kowloon.

That all changed in 2010, when The Armoury opened. A small store on an upper floor of the Pedder Building, it brought fine European tailoring and craft brands from around the world to the local market for the first time.

The Armoury’s curation and styling gave it an influence not just in Hong Kong, but around the world – and today has inspired shops as far abroad as Toronto and Tokyo.

Hong Kong has blossomed since. There are now half a dozen stores catering to enthusiasts of classic menswear, and nearly all within a couple of blocks of each other.

When I was in Hong Kong last week, I was struck once again by the concentration of men with the money and the professional justification for good tailoring.

It has spurred all these stores, and leads to an atmosphere where everyone bumps into their customers in the coffee shop, and trends spread like wildfire.

Local artisans have also responded, albeit slowly. Tailors like WW Chan are adapting to tastes for softer tailoring, and customers of bespoke are working with local tailors to update their output.

It all makes for a heady mix that justifies a trip to Hong Kong, even if most of the brands are actually from Europe, the US or Japan.

The Armoury offers a closely curated range of classic menswear. Although many of the brands have since become well known, they were often launched by Mark, Alan and the team, and the selection remains a very personal one. They range from factories like Frank Clegg in Fall River, Massachusetts to bespoke artisans like Ortus in Tokyo, Japan.

The smaller Armoury store at 12 Pedder Street is the cosiest, and tends to host the trunk shows by visiting bespoke tailors, shoemakers and other artisans. If you’re interested in bespoke, it’s worth visiting here first, as you’ll get an inside line on artisans and the details on other specialty pieces in-store.

If you’re new to The Armoury, however, and perhaps many of the brands it carries, then start in the larger store in the lower ground floor of Landmark Central, just across the street.

When Attire House opened in Hong Kong its most obvious point of difference was the lifestyle additions: a cocktail bar (run by Japan’s Bar High Five) and a barbershop (from Korean company Herr) alongside its menswear.

They also quickly had some of the biggest names in bespoke menswear doing their trunk shows at the store, including Anderson & Sheppard from London, Cifonelli from Paris, and Solito from Naples.

In 2018 the House moved to a new location a block away, abandoning the bar (always a little separate, on the floor above) but adding a cigar lounge. The feel is now cosier, and there is room for the stock such as shoes from Cleverley and ties from E.Marinella.

Ethan Newton’s take on menswear is an interesting one, combining as it does a dedication to fine tailoring with a deep love of American workwear. The result is suits in heavier, hardier cloths, made by tailors such as Dalcuore in Naples but often to Ethan’s designs and specifications; and in parallel, jeans that replicate vintage Levi’s alongside denim shirts cut to be worn with those suits.

Ethan remains in charge of the first Bryceland’s store in Tokyo, while business partner Kenji Cheung runs Hong Kong. The atmosphere here is slightly different, with a clubby feel that comes from being on an upper floor and offering a lovely bar and private area.

The stock in Hong Kong is similar though, with shoes from Saint Crispin’s, silver jewellery from Red Rabbit and ties from Sevenfold. The tailoring is made-to-measure, by Dalcuore in Naples (again to a Bryceland’s block) and trousers by WW Chan locally in Hong Kong.

Among the most interesting things are the pieces designed by Ethan and Kenji themselves, such as the high-waisted boxer shorts with adjustment buttons on the back, and the popular Sawtooth denim shirts.

Hong Kong is famous for its tailors – but largely the wrong sort. Shops and hawkers will offer a bespoke suit in 48 hours, and at very low prices. But the results are usually poor, with often a lot of handwork but square cuts and poor fit. It’s usually best to stick to more established names, and accept the standard bespoke process of multiple fittings over a period of weeks.

One of the best in the city is WW Chan, which has been in Hong Kong since 1952. It descends from the original ‘Red Gang’ of tailors that began in Shanghai, but has refined and updated its styles over the years, unlike many such traditional houses.

Today it is certainly the progressive among the large tailors in Hong Kong, with softer Italian-style shoulders on offer, sometimes with just double-layered canvas in the shoulder rather than padding. Helpfully for international readers, WW Chan also regularly travels to the US, Australia and Europe.

As with suits, so with shirts. Any cheap tailor in Hong Kong will offer to chuck in a few shirts to sweeten the deal, but there are very few quality bespoke makers around.

Ascot Chang is one of them. The founder also began in Shanghai, before setting up in Hong Kong in 1949. Today there are stores in the US, China and the Philippines, largely run by Chang’s apprentices and offering bespoke shirts whose measurements have to be communicated to HQ through a complex note-taking system. There are also trunk shows in Japan, Europe and the Middle East.

In Hong Kong, the oldest store is in the Peninsula Hotel on the Kowloon side of the city, but there is also a branch in the Landmark Prince’s Building, close to everyone else. It is a retailer for Isaia and Brioni tailoring as well as its own shirts.

Drop 93 is a retail concept launched by The Armoury, aiming to find new homes for clothing no longer worn by its customers, or spare pieces made by other brands.

Most activity is online, where there is a big range of tailoring, shoes and accessories – and sometimes in multiple sizes. But there is also a showroom outside the centre of Hong Kong in Lai Chi Kok, where anyone interested in pieces on the site can go to try them on in person.

Prologue is the most recent independent, classically minded menswear store to set up in Hong Kong. It has focused on some more unusual visiting artisans, such as Japanese shoemaker Bolero, and on its own line of tailoring.

The tailoring was how two of the founders, Chris and Jerry, got started. Although customers of Orazio Luciano, Liverano and others, they lacked the funds to buy western bespoke regularly, and in particular to recommend to their friends.

After many attempts, they finally found a mainland Chinese tailor that could produce a similar product, and worked to create a style that combined their favourite elements of Florentine, Neapolitan and Japanese work.

Although early days, they are creating a tailoring offering that has much of the appeal of Italian masters visiting Hong Kong, and at a fraction of the price – suits start at £850.

The third founder, Maslow, previously ran his own shoe store and focuses on the shoe selection at the shop, which includes Spanish maker Yanko.

A classic men’s shoe store, Tassels is a good local option for well-known brands. It stocks English brands such as Crockett & Jones, Edward Green and Cheaney, Italians Bontoni and Rivolta, and Alden from the US.

It holds regular trunk shows with made-to-order offerings, and has two branches in Hong Kong, in the Central and Causeway Bay areas, as well as one in Beijing.

Take 5 is a mecca for denim in Hong Kong, stocking a huge range of Japanese brands. Although not easy to find, and not necessarily sartorial in style, it is worth a trip purely for the wall-of-denim display.

Alongside names such as Iron Heart, Momotaro and The Flat Head, there are several collaborations Take5 has done with different makers, and a range of leather jackets.

10 AntiQlockwise

@AntiQlockwise

3 St. Francis Yard, Wan Chai

The market for vintage menswear in Hong Kong is nowhere near as developed as Tokyo, but is growing. A recent addition is this shop run by Quinton (below) and Jan, the former a watch dealer and the latter an employee at The Armoury. A small but lovely store, it is usually open at the weekends but is officially only available by appointment.

There is a good range of vintage watches, particularly Rolex, of Southwestern jewellery from the US, and a smattering of clothing including shorts and leather jackets.

Having recently visited Hong Kong and shopped at The Armoury, I really recommend visiting the store at Landmark Central. For first timers, It is also interesting to note that the [first] branch at the Pedder Building is really just opposite the Landmark Central building and can be accessed just by crossing the street (best to use the traffic light).

Something I want to add of interest is the other stores which are on the same basement level as the Armoury. There is a nice store selling Corthay shoes near the escalators.

A point of clarification. The vibrancy and international flavour being retained is not so much due to the heritage and success of the financial markets, but to the Basic Law signed between UK and China which gave 50 year protection to the financial markets, freedom of speech, legislature etc.

It’s not the main point here, but that’s really not the case Robert. The native Honkees I know feel their difference to the mainland Chinese very strongly, and with some countries the number of ex-pats is going up – particularly the French, for example.

As to the English, I had dinner at the China Club on Saturday night and I have never met more English people in my entire life.

It figures, because you’re more likely to mingle with sophisticated people than the rest of us. What you describe is miles away from the life of the average inhabitants of Hong Kong, or the average foreign visitor. However many expats there are in Hong Kong, they are outnumbered by the native-born Hong Kong residents. And expats tend to be concentrated in a few niche areas: finance and big business, and, to an extent, in academia.

Fascinating, thanks. Just what I need with a trip to HK on the horizon. I’m particularly struck by drop93, which is new to me. I’d be interested in your view of ‘pre-owned’ clothing and accessories? Ever indulged?

I remember when the armoury first opened they used to hold a trunk shows at the rook and raven gallery in rathbone place. Liverano was with them, at the time charging 2,500 eur for a 2 piece suit, how times have changed!

I walked into Bryceland’s one afternoon when Ethan was there and spent about two hours talking about cloth. He is a fountain of sartorial knowledge and ended up being fitted for a Dalcuore 2-piece. The Armoury is another great store where I’ve had many a Ring Jacket and Orazio Luciano suits made. WW Chan…a typical HK tailor…tell them what you want and they make what they want…I wasn’t a happy camper, but live and learn. Take5 is the best denim store outside of Tokyo/Osaka – the only local place to score stuff made by The Flat Head.

Sorry, I forget to include Attire House whose Head of House, Ben Allen, is another super knowledgeable and all around great guy. The selection here is altogether different than the offerings at The Armoury which is different than that at Bryceland’s. As an expat New Yorker I can honestly say that Hong Kong is THE place to be fitted with the finest tailoring in the world.

The Armoury, Attire House, Bryceland’s are the places I’ve had bespoke and MTM suits/jackets made and all of which I highly recommend. They hold trunk shows for different ateliers around the world and the staff is knowledgeable and top notch. I’ve been not had anything made at Prologue, but Jerry seems to have a keen understanding of Neapolitan tailoring and while the clothing is made in Shenzhen what was displayed looked well made.

Hi Simon, thanks again for another great city guide. Any thoughts or updates on Edward Tam at e.Italian this trip? I was surprised not to see him on the list given your prior reviews, maybe he’s just not up to the same standard as the tailors that did make the cut? Would be interested in any changes of your view, as I plan to use him for a few items when next in Hong Kong. Thanks again.

Hi Andrew,
No, much as I love Edward, I’m afraid he’s not really close to these others. As with many local HK tailors, the thing they actually lack most is style, despite the handwork involved and often a decent fit.

I have not used Edward for suiting before and won’t given there is so much better in the UK. However, for cheap and well fitted shirts (not to the bespoke standards here)..but the price point is so so low…it’s hard to refuse if you’re just using it for work/rough wear…I also got some fitted (loose) linen shirts for summer use and they do the job.

Wow, the frequent flyer points you must have! On a more serious point I always enjoy your travel articles – could you write one on a capsule wardrobe for travel in Asia – thinking tropical climate with varied evening entertainments? Thank you.

This post really resonates with me, owing to a trip to Hong Kong in December of last year. I do feel a smidge of regret now for not having known about half of the places on this list, but all the more reason to return I guess!

Word of caution with Hong Kong… don’t expect to be coddled. Service in general (when you are not Simon Crompton) is quite poor and very transactional aka “buy what you want and get out of my store”.

When I visited Attire House last year and asked to see their Cesare Attolini, the staff looked at me puzzled and said in perfect english they do not carry the brand, even though it was clearly listed on their website. Luckily, Arnold showed up and saved me (surprise they had it). If you can’t see Arnold, I suggest you save your frustration and leave. He is a great guy.

As for the Armoury HK, I have been over 16 times since it opened and the service is as bad if not worse than Attire House. Every time I interact with Jan, I question my interest in sartorial menswear, to the point where I feel sad and slightly pathetic.

I have frequented Tassels, Prologue, Ascot Chang, and WW Chan several times, products are fine, staff are alright (still “buy or get out”).

Sorry I had crashed the party Simon. I just don’t understand the praise the Armoury HK and Attire House get in the menswear community. They have nice products but I found them completely unbearable, and would easily rank my 2 least favorite menswear stores in the world.

One reason for bad service might be the fact that some of the shops popping up are merely hobbies for their owners, they don’t actually need to make any money from these stores as their income comes from elsewhere.

Do you really think Mark Cho has any interest in making sure your suit fits or whether you purchase anything? It doesn’t make the slightest bit of difference to his bank balance.

I’m the type of person where if I experience bad service just once I stop going to the place (like A. Man Hing Cheong). The fact that I’ve been a customer of The Armoury since they first opened says a lot about the staff as well as their product offering. I’ve met Mark and Alan and even though they own the shop they do take a genuine interest in their customers. Alan, for instance, has spent considerable time with me discussing the nuances of a Dembech suit vs. Liverano vs. Ciccio.

Jan, I am afraid you’ve missed the point here. Whilst it may be true that the owners of certain shops may already be wealthy and are indifferent to the profitability of their businesses, it doesn’t follow that poor customer service is then acceptable.

Similar to Troy I have visited the Armoury twice and had bad experience with staff who are not the owners.

I can vouch for that. You get the same attitude (‘buy or get out of my shop’) all over Hong Kong, no matter the product or its price. It seems to be a cultural thing. I suppose it comes from there not being a middle class (blokes who want quality at an affordable price). All you get in Hong Kong are poor people buying tat, and the hyper-rich buying luxury. There’s no culture of shopping around.

I live in Hong Kong and I am with Troy. The Armoury is just aweful. I’ve been in there looking to try some shoes and got told the ones I was wearing was not good and I didn’t know any better than the ones I tried and didn’t like the fit off (I was wearing c&j, trying on carmina). I also called up and asked if they had a Private White coat in my size in stock only for them to try and sell me a Barbour when I got in store.

I can’t remember a single time I’ve had good service there that I all but avoid it. It’s a shame because they hold good products.

As a Hong Kong local Chinese, here are where we go for tailoring or shopping. For budget bespoke tailors, many locals go Jantzen Tailor for their bespoke shirts and Dream Bespoke for suit making. You can see how crowd there is when you go these shops after work. Some HK tailors accept CMT, so people would go Merino Brothers to buy cut length fabic then bring to their tailors. To buy vintage watches, we love to go The Vintage Concept, this shop is just 5 mins walk from Attire House.

I’ve found Jantzen to be a very good deal. Their fabrics are not great (you can special order better shirtings from them but the price shoots up). However, the quality of construction is extremely good for the price. I’ve had them do CMT and been very pleased with the results.

…perhaps a little different to Florence and Naples as they are short haul destinations (from the UK) and less humid. Long haul stays are slightly longer and, in my experience, packing for them requires a little more thought as to destination and requirements (which adds to the fun of wardrobe selection and packing…).

The price is low because it’s all made in a workshop in China – HK tailors often have a lot of handwork and even hand padding sometimes, but are still cheap. They usually lack style, however, and that’s where Prologue add value. If they can make it work it’s a model with real potential

Is Prologue just RTW? I checked out their website based on your advice but it does not say they offer bespoke. I know their workshop is in China but do you know if they are full bespoke by hand? If not, there are many other tailors with similar price range that actually have workshops in HK and have a lot of handwork. Though not sure about style like you said, Prologue house style is a combination but leaning towards softer look, correct?
Wouldn’t a softer look make a tall slim person look even slimmer/shoulders narrower?

Hi Simon, Prologue sounds interesting. What is your take on how they keep their price low? Is it reflected in the quality, or more about where it’s made? (Somebody in the comments mentioned they were made in Shenzhen …)

the Guide is very useful, but not that much “sartorial” in terms of recommended taylors. a lot of the unknown good ones disappeared with the British, since they ‘ve been working mainly for the British officiers there. Two survivors are A-Man Cheong and Y-William Yu whom are deserving a little mention

I had the chance to meet you in Hong Kong during the Trunk Show of the Master Lorenzo Cifonelli.
I appreciate that you really fly to this city to do your research before posting those information into your blog.
It’s a true proof of professionalism compare to some other pseudo blogs which are doing some research online.

Hi Simon – you mentioned The Armoury has inspired shops in Toronto. I live here and I would really love to know which ones and visit them. Additionally, would love to know if you’ve heard good reviews of any additional shops here.

Hi Simon,
Thanks for your article. I’ve been following your blog for a while and this is my first comment. I live in Hong Kong and I strongly recommend the Anthology, which is rebranded from Suitaccess. They are one of the few tailoring houses which does a Neapolitan style ( actually I prefer their cut to Prologue’s). They might want to visit them next time you are in HK.

Honk Kong has been my home since 2003 although I do work mostly in Africa. I shop a lot in HK at many of these stores and have never found a problem with the service of any of them. HK used to have poor customer service and some still lingers but as with most places, you generally reap whatever you sew. I have found shop staff dismissive and welcoming at all places in the world I visit, maybe its just a day of the week/time of the month/mood of the day thing. The shops and guys mentioned above have always been great with me. HK, I love shopping there and would just urge anyone to go and discover yourself and not be put off.

I’m moving to Europe for University, a place where obviously the weather is very different from my native Hong Kong. I have recently invested in quality shoes already, now I would like to commission two fully bespoke suits. My first time ever and of course I would choose Hong Kong as my sartorial starting point! But there are just too many tailors here and people with too many different comments. Tailor houses also have very different price points and “styles”.

Somewhen last summer I visited WWC with two visiting Aussie friends, we did not get a friendly vibe unfortunately. Perhaps they were very busy with their work in the middle of the day, or it was because we looked like tourists wearing causal clothing (it was very hot & humid). When I asked for price quotes, they were very vague, could be HKD15K or could be HKD25K….very hard for me to convince myself if I wanna be a customer there especially on a budget.

As a native HKer, I would agree that most places here have bad customer service and they normally have this “Buy something or leave my shop” kinda attitude. They almost judge you the second you walk in their shops and see if you look like you could afford anything. I get that and I grew up here! Simon would most likely not experience that if you are apparently writing an article about their shops or products. I’m not surprised if other ordinary people have different treatment from same shops.

Quite a few reasons for that in my humble opinion, 1. Many big spenders from mainland China whom don’t need to care about prices would just buy anything and everything they see, naturally sales people who live on commission are more drawn to serve this kind of customers. 2. Lack of training and/or knowledge about products, you can ask questions but quite often shop assistants don’t know what you are talking about, also due to poor English. I see this area improving though especially in cosmetic industry. Tailoring/Retail in general still has room for improvement. 3. My impression is that if you are a foreigner, they would serve you better as often they assume you have more money, we have a lot of expats in banking here. No excuse for any poor customer experience though, especially if you are paying a lot for bespoke tailoring and you don’t wanna treat it as just another mass produced suits from Zara which style is obviously copied from the lastest fashion labels. Bear in mind when you said “lower cost” is a relative terms, you are earning Pounds, of course a HKD25,000 worth of WWC is cheap compared to the ridiculous unrealistic prices you have to pay on Savile Row these days. But for those of us earning HKD in average paying jobs, that could be two months salary and might take a year to save that much as living cost is high here.

That’s why I consider my first fully bespoke suits as investment for the future and I would like to get excellent values out of this experience. I have thought about things you mentioned in other posts related to “Before you go to a tailor, what you should know about what you want”. I would like your advice and check if I’m on the right track.

I am aiming at getting two suits for all season wear for The Netherlands. I can’t afford to separate winter suits and summer suits at the moment, so I just need to be careful with my budget and be practical. I need these suits for more formal office environment in case I need a job interview or an internship in big organization where everyone wears suits. But I don’t wanna buy Suitsupply RTW like every college students there, especially when I can pay a bit more and get fully bespoke here! My grandfather always taught me – people who don’t know you personally would always respect you more instantly if you dress well and properly. In other words, impression counts! When he was still alive, he always had a suits on or that lovely green tweed jacket which I love….

I guess for my first bespoke suits, I should just go for the classic English look? Something that look timeless even after 20 years. But like you said very often HK tailors produce these boxy looking suits that have no flare or shape looking at it. How do I avoid that? What about shoulder padding? I’m tall and very slim with narrow shoulders, I suppose when wearing my suits, I wanna look I’m in a better shape to cover my many physical flaws. At the same time, I don’t wanna look I’m 10 years older if you know what I mean. Would the softer Italian shoulders make my already undesirable sloped shoulders look even worse?

You recommended previously not to choose branded cloth for first bespoke suits as it can lower the overall cost and the fit usually isn’t perfect till your 3rd 4th suits with same tailor. How do I know if it’s a good cloth then? Most tailors here seem to push you into thinking branded ones like Scabel or Zegna are the best, hence they can charge more.

What kind of questions should I be asking a HK tailor? Are WWC and Gordon Yau the only bespoke tailors here whose craftsmanship you reckon are very close to Savile Row? Could you specifically point out what they lack compare to Savile Row tailors, thus could justify paying so much more for the English tailors? Just very curious.

Thanks Calvin, so much detail!
I think you’re definitely on the right lines with your suit, I’d just say maybe go without turn-ups for the first suit, it is more usual still. And don’t worry about going for branded cloth, just don’t get pushed into using anything really light or fine. On tailors, yes those are the ones I would recommend, plus anyone visiting HK like Solito or Orazio, if you can afford them. I would suggest Prologue too, except I don’t have any personal experience there yet

Thanks Simon. Maybe you should try WWC next time and compare them with Savile Row tailors in details and inform us what are the differences in terms of craftsmanship and details, thus can help explain why there is such huge price difference? Of course Labour cost is higher in UK but rent is as outrageous if not worse in HK.
I’m thinking to try one suit in WWC and one suit in another tailor who was also trained by Shanghai gang. I probably won’t be able to tell the difference as this is my first time, but would be interesting to find out.
For odd trousers to wear alone with plain shirt, would you recommend flannel instead of worsted wool? Also 13oz or should be heavier if wearing in Winter? I often see you wearing flannels in your photos and just love the look of it…

Thanks Simon. I love the feeling of flannels during winter time, I should go for 13oz as it’s for European winter.
I came across your posts about W&S in London, cut by John but made in India, which I don’t mind at all. Would you say it’s better to go for W&S in London than WWC in HK if I can be in London 3-4 times spreading in a year time?
W&S cut is definitely Savile Row quality and your post seemed to indicate their make is also of very high quality. Most important to me is the fit, don’t really care where the suit is made to be honest. Both houses charge more or less the same it seems. Would W&S be more worth the shot for first bespoke suit? They are both classic English style with strong shoulders I think?
Thanks again.

This list was helpful as a shopping guide around Central when I visited HK a few weeks back – the stay was short (only a couple of days) so this was ideal.
I managed to spend some time at The Armoury and Attire House. I did try Brycelands but they were closed for the day at a vintage market (which led me to visit the market the following day, seeing some lovely vintage clothing – in particular Japanese historic pieces, and purchasing a lovely pair of modern Muller &Bros shorts)
In terms of results, I bagged a lovely NOS unlined summer Ring Jacket from Drop93, and a beautiful pair of limited edition Studio D Artisan jeans from Take5.
Very happy – thanks for the guide…I will try and visit more when next back!

I will be visiting Hong Kong for a week in January and fell in love with the Sagans you introduced on your blog from Baudoin & Lange. Do you know of any stores in HK that stock these particular Belgian style loafers, or have their own interpretation of it?